1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of hockey pucks and, more specifically, to hockey pucks designed to be resistant to rising up on an edge of the puck and thus, to decrease rolling of the Puck.
2. Description of the Related Art
Street hockey is played similarly to ice hockey, but can be played on convenient hard surfaces like play grounds, parking lots, roads and the like. Many who play street hockey also play ice hockey or at least follow the latter sport. Thus, it is important that a street hockey puck respond much like an ice hockey puck does when it is passed or shot, or in interaction with sticks and the playing surface.
Heretofore, a standard or official hockey puck was made of solid rubber of desired diameter, thickness, weight, and resiliency in the form of a round disc, with the top and bottom surfaces parallel, and with the flat edge portion perpendicular thereto.
During play, such a standard puck is very apt to rise up on an edge such that the top and bottom surfaces are substantially perpendicular to the playing surface, whereby the puck rolls on its edge. Due to greater friction between the puck and rougher playing surfaces, rolling of the puck is generally more frequent and prolonged on those surfaces. This is a highly objectionable feature, as a rolling puck cannot be readily controlled, passed or shot by a player, as the puck must lie substantially flat on either of its disc-like surfaces to facilitate stick-handling, passing, and shooting.
This problem was addressed by the hockey puck described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,226,516. The hockey puck described in that patent includes an edge that is chamfered or rounded. This feature is said to cause the puck to tend to automatically fall on either of the faces of the puck.